The ordinances of the church, or sacraments as some call them, are those activities that are thought to make a church distinctly a church rather than another kind of organization.  We might even think of these activities as customs or rituals.  As we participate in the ordinances, we claim to identify with the beliefs and practices of the church.  In other words, the ordinances in some ways define the church as an organization, but also identify us as part of that community.

• Research the concepts of sacraments and ordinances of the church. For example, the Catholics list as many as seven where most Protestants list one, possibly two.

• Examine the view of water baptism explained by Baker and why he sees water baptism as unnecessary in this present dispensation.
• Prepare to discuss the two sacraments held up by most Protestants and your personal understanding of what it means to partake in the body and blood of Christ, i.e. the Lord’s Supper or Communion (2 paragraphs in initial post).
• Although the conversation around water baptism will likely involve disagreement, be prepared to participate in a scholarly conversation around the strengths and weaknesses of this position (2 paragraphs in initial post).

Support your work with scholarly academic resources, textbooks, or other sources provided.  Quoting or paraphrasing from any source in discussion posts requires APA format by including an in-text citation and listing the reference at the end of the post.